Shan First Flush Green Tea from Shan Valley

This tea is considered to be the freshest and most sought after tea. Shan First Flush Reserve tea is the first harvest in the year and only occurs once a year, usually in early April. Shan First Flush is subtle yet has a rich and distinct taste. Because it comes in limited quantities, it is considered a reserve tea.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this Shan First Flush Green Tea from Shan Valley. This is a new-to-me company, and the teas are grown in Myanmar, and to my knowledge, I haven’t yet tried teas from this particular area. So, I kept my fingers crossed!

The dry tea is a bit darker in color than I expected from a green tea. It almost looks like a black tea, or at the very least, a darker Oolong. But it brews up a pale, transparent green color, so even if the tea leaves don’t look green, the color of the liquid definitely tells me that this is a green tea.

My first couple of sips – taken while the tea was still quite hot – were rather delicate in taste. After I allowed the tea to cool for a moment or two (OK so it was closer to 2 minutes), I found that the flavors began to develop. This is light and vibrant, with a vegetative note and a lovely hint of citrus-y flavor that is especially noticed toward the finish and in the aftertaste.

Many vegetative green teas have a “buttery” taste to them, but I don’t really notice a strong buttery note here. Instead, it’s as if the “veggies” were accented with a squeeze of lemon rather than a drizzle of melted butter. My palate feels very refreshed after each sip.

While this may be the first tea that I’ve tried from Shan Valley, it certainly won’t be the last, and I’m excited to learn what the other teas from this company have in store for me!

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see.

Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog!

Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!